Ethic Inc. Decreases Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Ethic Inc. trimmed its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 9.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 119,673 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,074 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $11,645,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Novartis by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,183,855 shares of the company’s stock valued at $796,372,000 after purchasing an additional 90,823 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Novartis by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,668,849 shares of the company’s stock worth $259,706,000 after purchasing an additional 368,171 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 23.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,132,591 shares of the company’s stock worth $207,522,000 after purchasing an additional 399,862 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 17.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,002,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $194,908,000 after buying an additional 296,950 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Novartis by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 1,161,139 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,990,000 after buying an additional 52,044 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Novartis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Down 1.3 %

Novartis stock opened at $110.20 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $232.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.74, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $96.06 and a 12 month high of $120.92. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $110.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $105.99.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $13.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.92 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.24%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.80 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were paid a dividend of $3.8695 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.47%.

Novartis Profile

Novartis AG engages in the research, development, manufacture, and marketing of healthcare products in Switzerland and internationally. The company offers prescription medicines for patients and physicians. It focuses on therapeutic areas, such as cardiovascular, renal and metabolic, immunology, neuroscience, and oncology, as well as ophthalmology and hematology.